Face Transplants

I saw this article relating to a face transplant that occurred in Maryland within the last week or so. This article is extremely relevant to the book we just discussed (Autobiography of a Face). The man who received the transplant needed one due to a gunshot wound and damage from about 15 years ago. The article can be found here:

The story is an amazing one. The medical technology and techniques that we now know are phenomenal. I wish I could interview this guy and ask him how he feels about having a new face after hiding behind a mask for so long and having to use a breathing tube to breathe. The transplanted face came from a donor whose other organs were also donated to save 5 lives. The article states that the recipient’s new face is a combination of his own face and the donor’s face and a little bit of customization. I wonder how this man feels about having another person’s face fused into his. I also wonder how that impacts his identity. How would you feel? Would you be relieved to have the new face so you can appear what is “normal” to society? Or would you have some reservations and other ideals about how this re-creates your identity?

Like this:

Related

2 Responses

I would be immensely uncomfortable with having another person’s face combined into mine. I believe I would consistently be wondering about the donor of the face, and would no longer feel like myself if I were to look in the mirror. I am unsure if I would get a new face unless it was necessary (for health reasons, etc.). Normalcy is a rather relative concept to me, and what may appear as a disfigured face to me may appear as beautiful to another – so I would not get another person’s face fused with mine for societal reasons.

At the same time, I understand why one would want to do so for the aforementioned reasons. I think I may remember people more by their faces than their names – so the face appears to be a crucial marker of identification, at least to me.

The choice between and mask and a new face seems on the surface to be a no brianer. Of course a new face. But I think it is a lot deeper and complex than that. I mean my face hasn’t changed a lot since I was little and I have been seeing my own face for 22 years now. I can’t even begin to grasp or try to comprehend waking up to a new face. Or having my picture taken.

I remember faces more then anything else. I could only imagine that the guy would have to be reintroduced to some people because even the slightest change could make a difference talk less of a whole facial transplant. But then again living behind a mask can’t be that much fun. I mean one could redirect their whole lives by having a new face.